Ghostbusters II
Ghostbusters II is a 1989 American supernatural comedy film, produced and directed by Ivan Reitman. It is the sequel to the 1984 film ''Ghostbusters'', and follows the further adventures of the four parapsychologists and their organization which combats paranormal activities. Despite mixed reviews, the film was a box office success grossing $215 million worldwide, becoming the eighth-highest-grossing film of 1989. Plot After saving New York City from the demi-god Gozer, the Ghostbusters are sued for property damage and barred from investigating the supernatural, forcing them out of business. Five years later, Ray Stantz owns an occult bookstore and works as an children's entertainer with Winston Zeddemore, Egon Spengler works in a laboratory conducting experiments into human emotion, and Peter Venkman hosts a psychic television show. Peter's ex-girlfriend Dana Barrett has had a son, Oscar, with an ex-husband, and works an art museum. After Oscar's carriage is drawn to a busy intersection by an unseen force, Dana turns to the Ghostbusters for help. Dana's boss Janosz Poha is possessed by the spirit of Vigo the Carpathian, a sixteenth-century tyrant trapped in a painting in the museum. Vigo orders Poha to locate a child that Vigo can possess, allowing him to return to life. Under the intersection where Oscar's carriage was possessed, the Ghostbusters discover a river of slime filling the abandoned Beach Pneumatic Transit line. After obtaining a sample, Ray is attacked by the slime and accidentally causes a citywide blackout. The Ghostbusters are arrested and found guilty of investigating the supernatural. In the court room, the slime taken as evidence reacts to the judge's angry outburst and releases the ghosts of two deceased convicts. The Ghostbusters capture the ghosts in exchange for the restraining order being rescinded. The slime invades Dana's apartment and attacks her and Oscar. She seeks refuge with Peter, and the two renew their relationship. The Ghostbusters discover that the slime reacts to emotions, and suspect that it has been generated by the negative attitudes of New Yorkers. While Peter and Dana have dinner, Egon, Ray, and Winston explore the underground river of slime. They are pulled into the river and escape coated in slime. They begin arguing, and Egon realizes that they are being influenced by the slime. They learn the river flows to the museum. The Ghostbusters go to the mayor with their suspicions, but are dismissed. The mayor's assistant, Jack Hardemeyer, has them committed to a psychiatric hospital to protect the mayor's interests. A spirit resembling Janosz kidnaps Oscar from Peter's apartment, and Dana pursues them to the museum. After she enters, the museum is covered with a barrier of impenetrable slime. On New Year's Eve, the slime rises to the streets, causing widespread paranormal activity. The mayor fires Hardemeyer and has the Ghostbusters released. Determining that they need a symbol of positivity to rally the citizens and weaken the slime, the Ghostbusters use positively-charged slime to animate the Statue of Liberty and pilot it through the streets before the cheering populace. At the museum, the slime recedes and they use the Statue's torch to break through the ceiling. Janosz is neutralized with positively-charged slime, but Vigo immobilizes the Ghostbusters and attempts to possess Oscar. A chorus of "Auld Lang Syne" by the citizens outside weakens Vigo, returning him to the painting and freeing the Ghostbusters. Vigo momentarily possesses Ray, and the other Ghostbusters attack him. Louis attacks the weakened slime barrier with a proton stream of his own. Vigo is destroyed, and the painting transforms into a likeness of the Ghostbusters protecting Oscar. The Ghostbusters receive a standing ovation from the onlookers and the Key to the City from the mayor. Cast * Bill Murray as Peter Venkman * Dan Aykroyd as Ray Stantz * Sigourney Weaver as Dana Barrett * Harold Ramis as Egon Spengler * Rick Moranis as Louis Tully * Ernie Hudson as Winston Zeddemore * Annie Potts as Janine Melnitz * Peter MacNicol as Dr. Janosz Poha * Harris Yulin as Judge Stephen Wexler * Janet Margolin as Kitten * David Margulies as Mayor Lenny Clotch * Kurt Fuller as Jack Hardemeyer * William T. Deutschendorf and Hank J. Deutschendorf II as Baby Oscar * Wilhelm von Homburg as Vigo * Ivan Reitman as the voice of Slimer Some notable cast members in the film include one of Bill Murray's siblings, Brian Doyle-Murray, who played the psychiatric doctor, Dan Aykroyd's niece, Karen Humber, who played one of the school children, and Ben Stein, who played a public works official for the mayor. Jason Reitman, son of director Ivan Reitman, plays the boy who insults the Ghostbusters at a birthday party. Cheech Marin is the dock supervisor who witnesses the arrival of the Titanic, and Philip Baker Hall is the city police chief. Bobby Brown is the doorman to Gracie Mansion when the Ghostbusters go to see the mayor of New York City (also performing on the soundtrack). The physical role of Vigo was played by Wilhelm von Homburg, and his dialog was dubbed by Max von Sydow. Production Development After the success of the first film and the animated series, The Real Ghostbusters, Columbia Pictures pressed the producers to make a sequel.2 Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis and Ivan Reitman were uncomfortable with this, as the original film was intended to be conclusive and they wished to work on other projects. Eventually, they agreed and created a script.3 Home media Ghostbusters II was released on DVD on March 14, 2006. It was released on Blu-Ray on September 16, 2014, followed by a 4K UHD Blu-Ray release on June 7, 2016.11 Merchandise A great deal of merchandise (such as coloring books) came out with the release of this film. As was the case with the Real Ghostbusters cartoon, the makers of this material may have wanted to avoid likeness fees and as a result, the main characters in these bear little resemblance to any other version of the characters. As a tie-in with the release of the movie, approximately 3,100 Hardee’s fast food restaurants offered a kids meal-deal that included a toy called the "Ghostblaster", a small noisemaker embossed with the movie’s signature logo on one side and made different sounds when one of two buttons were activated. However, officials at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission deemed that the toy posed a potential choking hazard to small children because the toy was operated with small watch-sized batteries and recalled at least 2 million units. Comic book adaptation During this period, The Real Ghostbusters comic book produced by NOW Comics ran a three-part adaptation of the film, using the cartoon character designs instead of the likenesses of the actors. The overall story received minor alterations to run as a three-part series, and includes several scenes that were in the shooting script but were not included in the released movie. An example is a scene set after their first visit at the museum (and Ray's first encounter with Vigo). In this scene, Ray is momentarily possessed while driving the Ecto-1A, and as a result tries to crash the car and kill the Ghostbusters. They soon bring Ray around to his senses after speeding through New York streets, and he apologizes, unable to account for his actions. They never connect it to Vigo since, while possessed, Ray never mentions him. The comic panels further reinforce the movie's scene where Ray is briefly hypnotized by Vigo (leading to him being chosen as a host at the end). Video games Main article: List of Ghostbusters video games § Ghostbusters II video game Soundtrack The film also features the original versions of "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. and "Higher and Higher" by Jackie Wilson, though neither appears on the soundtrack album. The album was made available in digital form on Tuesday, May 27, 2014. References # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ Dick, Bernard F. (1992) "Columbia Pictures: Portrait of a Studio" (p. 51). The University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 0-8131-1769-0. # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ Murphy, Jim. "Batman/Honey, I Shrunk the Kids/Tummy Trouble/Ghostbusters II/Kung-Fu Master!" (June 24, 1989). Television: Siskel & Ebert. Burbank: Buena Vista Television. # ^''' # '''^ # ^ Jump up to:a'' ''b c # ^''' Ghostbusters II – Original Soundtrack at AllMusic # '''^ "Bobby Brown: On Our Own (1989)", 80s Music Channel, October 1, 2008, retrieved January 10, 2009. # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ # ^''' # '''^ Category:Columbia Pictures films Category:Sony Pictures Entertainment Films Category:1989 films Category:Science fiction films